On Sunday, Barcelona will have the chance to extend their lead at the top of La Liga to nine points, given that Real Madrid’s fixture against Valencia, which was scheduled for Saturday, had to be postponed because of Storm Dana.
It promises to be a passionate affair at the Estadi Olimpic, with it being the first Barcelona derby since the 2022-23 season. The visitors are hoping to pull off an unlikely result, but that is much easier said than done.
Sport have provided their expected teams for the encounter, and for Barcelona, they are set to make two changes from last weekend’s dominant El Clasico victory – Frenkie de Jong and Dani Olmo are both in line to start, and it would be Pedri and Fermin Lopez that drop out.
Espanyol lost to Sevilla last weekend, and from that match, head coach Manolo Gonzalez is predicted to make three changes: Sergi Gomez, Alvaro Aguado and Alejo Veliz are set to come into the side, with Pol Lozano (injured), Alvaro Tejedo and Walid Cheddira dropping out.
Barcelona are firm favourites for this one, and it would be a big surprise if they didn’t secure another victory. However, Espanyol have shown themselves to be no pushovers this season, and they will believe in themselves to get a positive result.